Eskom air pollution puts almost 80 000 lives at risk, study says

Air pollution from coal-fired power plants run by South Africa’s Eskom Holdings risks killing 79 500 people from 2025 until they are due to be shut, according to a study submitted to a government-appointed panel. The research by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air assumes that the utility will continue to operate its plants as it does currently, with many of them breaching South African emission standards. The study was cited on Wednesday by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), a legal organisation representing environmental activist organizations in its submission to a panel on air pollution.